[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[February 28, 2008]
[Pages 297-298]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Briefing on the National Economy
February 28, 2008

    I want to thank Madam Secretary for 
hosting this meeting with my economic team. We just had a briefing on 
what has become very obvious to the American people: that we're in a 
period of slowness. And it's also a period of uncertainty.
    We're optimistic about the long-term economic future of the country, 
but right now a lot of Americans are facing uncertain times. And we're 
acting on it.
    I want to thank the Members of Congress for quickly passing a 
economic growth package. And that means that there will

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be $150 billion or more sent out to American consumers and incentives 
inherent in that to--for American businesses to invest.
    Now, the Secretary briefed us--
Secretary Paulson--that we anticipate that the checks will start being 
sent in the second week of May. And that's going to be very positive 
news for our consumers. And it's a part of our active plan to help deal 
with these uncertain times.
    One way Congress, if they really want to make a substantial 
difference in creating certainty during uncertain times, is to make the 
tax cuts we passed permanent. You see, if you're somebody worried about 
three-dollar gasoline and you think your taxes may be going up in 2 
years, then it--the uncertain price of gasoline creates more uncertainty 
for you as you plan your future. And Congress needs to make these tax 
cuts permanent, and they need to think about the American consumer and 
the American family and the American small-business owner during these 
times of difficulty and make the tax cuts permanent, send a clear signal 
to the American people.
    Secondly, obviously, the housing issue is one that we're deeply 
concerned about. We want people being able to stay in their homes. We 
don't support legislation that will reward lenders--you know, that will 
bail out lenders--and we don't support legislation that will cause 
interest rates to go up, like the legislation in the Senate. What we do 
support is an aggressive plan, led by Secretary Paulson and Secretary Jackson, to help people stay in their homes, to help them refinance 
their mortgages, to help them make the financial adjustments necessary 
to help us through this difficult period of time.
    And so I want to thank you all for your briefing. I appreciate your 
concern about our fellow citizens. We share concerns about it. We want 
them doing well. And we believe that in the long term, we're going to do 
just fine. This is a resilient economy. We've got good, hard-working 
people in America. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong. And we'll make 
it through this period, just like we've made it through other periods of 
uncertainty during my Presidency. And each time, we came out stronger 
and better, and that's what's going to happen this time too.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:41 a.m. at the Department of Labor.